Dry Season? Monrovia, January 2005

I am back in Liberia. I spent almost 5 weeks in South Africa over Christmas and the New Year and, frankly, that was way too long. No offence to South Africa but I think any place would grow old if you spent that amount of unstructured time there.It was interesting how my perceptions evolved while in SA. At first I was amazed at how successful they had been in the transformation from minority (white) rule to majority (non-white) rule. After some time in the country and after meeting and talking to several South Africans I realized that there was a lot more going on than first appeared. The government is controlled by the ANC which has a solid majority and is unlikely to lose control any time soon. There is a new elite class of non-white government officials and business men and women who have benefited from “black empowerment” programs. Due to the restructuring of governmental institutions (hospitals, universities, governmental agencies) and mandated private-sector affirmative action, there are vast numbers of whites (mostly male) now out of work for the first. When you drive down the main streets in Johannesburg you see billboards touting the government-sponsored “Homecoming Revolution” campaign inviting and encouraging South Africans who left after the end of Apartheid to move back. There are just as many billboards for emigration services which promise to assist people in relocating to Australia. A lot of white South Africans (especially those with male children) are emigrating because they feel they and their sons have no future.Not much has changed in Liberia in my absence. We are into the dry season and it it hotter and more humid with only occasional rain. Tension builds as people scramble to prepare for the October elections. The security situation is also fragile due to the upcoming elections and unrest in neighboring countries like Cote d’Ivoire, Sierra Leone and Guinea. At Concern we are continuing some of the prior programs and doing some proposals for new ones. I have inserted myself and my staff into the planning and budgeting process by pointing out how some of the over- and under-spends from last year’s program budgets might have been avoided. Some of my input is well received but quite often I think people do not know how to deal with me. There continues to be some friction between me and my boss (the dictator) who is not used to anyone questioning his edicts, especially in a logical, articulate and, at times, public way.Andy had a birthday party at the beach which my staff and some others attended. His chocolate cake read “Happy 1st Birthday Andy” and we had food, beer and soda. A band was playing African music nearby so there was some dancing. Andy stayed under the food table and wouldn’t even come out to blow out the candle on his cake.I have heard that it is cold and snowy in New York and Baltimore and I am actually reminiscing about real winter weather. I am sure that would grow old fast!I hope everyone is well. Please send me some news.I hope to be home for Easter.Regards, Philip